Calcutta: Mohun Bagan's hopes for back-to-back I-League titles suffered another blow. They squandered points yet again as on this occasion, DSK Shivajians held them 3-3 in a crucial game at the Barasat Stadium on Saturday.
Bagan needed at least three points from this match to keep alive realistic chances. But following Saturday's result, only mathematical possibilities remain as far as Bagan's retaining the trophy is concerned.
Winless in their last four matches, Bagan still remain at the top though with 27 points from 15 matches. But they lead Bengaluru FC by just one point while the second-placed side has also played two matches less so far.
It was a must-win game for Bagan who had started on a positive note. With Sony Norde back in action, Bagan looked a more compact unit. Jeje Lalpekhlua came in as a replacement for Azharuddin Mallick in the 23rd minute as Bagan took the lead three minutes later. Jeje's shot was saved by Shivajians custodian Subrata Paul, but Cornell Glen scored on the rebound.
Soon after, Bagan players appealed for a goal as they felt Sony's shot had crossed the goalline. The Shivajians, however, made good use of the reprieve and equalised much against the run of play. Juan Quero got a forward pass from Douhou Pierre and the Spaniard made no mistake in beating Debjit Majumder to find the target. The visitors then stunned Bagan to go ahead in the 34th minute as Quero ran down the left before converting with a diagonal shot. With their team 1-2 down, Bagan supporters looked despondent. However, Sony then rose to the occasion and made it 2-2 with a right-footed push from just outside the box. Glen scored his second then to regain Bagan's lead just before half-time.
Bagan started the second half on a positive manner. Glen could have completed his hat-trick within the hour mark, but he failed to capitalise on the chance. The hosts, unfortunately, received a major blow in the 59th minute when Milan Singh tackled Sony and the latter picked up injury again before being replaced by Kean Lewis.
To compound Bagan's problems, their defence looked completely out of sorts. There were some major miscommunications between two central defenders Luciano Sabrosa and Sanjay Balmuchu. The Shivajians made the most of that and got their third goal - the equaliser - through Aser Pierric Dipanda in the 75th minute.
TEAMS
Mohun Bagan: Debjit Majumdar; Prabir Das, Sanjay Balmuchu, Luciano Sabrosa, Dhanachandra Singh, Katsumi Yusa, Lenny Rodrigues (Bikramjit Singh, 85), Pronay Haldar, Sony Norde (Kean Lewis, 60), Cornell Glen, Azharuddin Mallick (Jeje Lalpekhlua, 23)
DSK Shivajians: Subrata Paul; Haroon Fakhruddin Amiri, Sandesh Jhingan, Zohmingliana Ralte, Lalhmangaihsanga Ralte, Baljit Sahni (Sampathkumar Kuttymani, 73), Milan Singh (Israil Gurung, 60), Surchandra Singh, Juan Quero (Prakash Thorat, 88), Douhou Pierre, Aser Pierric Dipanda
Referee: Tejas Nagvenkar
MoM: Cornell Glen
